MOTOR CARS | 171‘If Les Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans has been responsible for the
new E-Type Jaguar, then that Homeric contest on the Sarthe circuit
will have been abundantly justified. Here we have one of the quietest
and most flexible cars on the market, capable of whispering along
in top gear at 10mph or leaping into its 150mph stride on the brief
depression of a pedal. A practical touring car, this, with its wide
doors and capacious luggage space, yet it has a sheer beauty of line
which easily beats the Italians at their own particular game.’
There have been few better summaries of the E-Type’s manifest
virtues than the forgoing, penned by the inimitable John Bolster for
Autosport shortly after the car’s debut. Conceived and developed
as an open sportscar, the Jaguar E-Type debuted at the Geneva
Salon in March 1961 in Coupé form. The car caused a sensation -
spontaneous applause breaking out at the unveiling - with its instantly
classic lines and a 140mph-plus top speed. The design owed much
to that of the racing D-Type, a monocoque tub forming the main
structure while a tubular spaceframe extended forwards to support
the engine. The latter was the 3.8-litre, triple-carburettor, ‘S’ unit first
offered as an option on the preceding XK150. Aerodynamically, the
Coupé was superior to the Roadster and the better Grand Tourer,
enjoying as it did a marginally higher top speed and the considerable
convenience of a generously sized luggage platform accessed via the
side-hinged rear door.
Its engine aside, only in terms of its transmission did the E-Type
represent no significant advance over the XK150, whose durable
four-speed Moss gearbox it retained. The latter was replaced when
the 4.2-litre engine was introduced on the Series 1 in October 1964,
a more user-friendly all-synchromesh gearbox and superior Lockheed
brake servo forming part of the improved specification together with
the bigger, torquier engine.
This superb left-hand drive E-Type roadster was sold new to Richard
A Becker of Cincinnati, Ohio and subsequently owned - it is believed- by Byron Lee, the influential Jamaican musician, record producer
and entrepreneur. As leader of The Dragonaires, one of Jamaica’s top
show bands since the early 1960s, Lee helped further the careers
of dozens of up-and-coming performers including Jimmy Cliff, The
Maytals and The Blues Busters. He was instrumental in raising
the profile of ska and later established Dynamic Sounds, then the
Caribbean’s best-equipped recording facility. Dynamic played host
to Bob Marley, The Melodians, Junior Byles and countless other
Jamaican greats as well as Paul Simon, Roberta Flack and The
Rolling Stones, who recorded ‘Angie’ there.
This E-Type is a matching numbers example retaining its original
engine, gearbox and body tag. Jaguar E-type specialists Lanes
Cars completed its rebuild in May 2014 and the car has covered a
300-mile road test since completion. It has had new floors, inner and
outer sills, new boot floor and other fabrication, all undertaken by
Lanes including painting the exterior in dark metallic blue. A complete
new wiring loom has been fitted. The engine has been rebuilt with
new pistons/rings and shell bearings, while the cylinder head has
been reworked for unleaded fuel. The gearbox and differential have
been refurbished. Upgrades include Gaz platform shock absorbers,
stainless steel brake hoses, large-core radiator, slim-line electric
fan and chromed wire wheels. A full photographic record of the
entire restoration process, amounting to 500 images on a CD-ROM,
is included in the sale. Presented in commensurately excellent
condition, the car is currently taxed/MoT’d and comes with Heritage
Certificate and V5C registration document.
£120,000 - 140,000
€150,000 - 180,000